MUMBAI: The inaugural edition of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) – India’s pioneering tennis ball T10 cricket tournament to be played inside a stadium, kicked off with a star-studded opening ceremony that witnessed a live musical performance and a drone show at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium here in Thane on Wednesday.
After the celebrity-studded exhibition match, the first official match of the tournament was played in which Majhi Mumbai team defeated Srinagar Ke Veer by 37 runs.
ISPL has a stated primary mission to discover, nurture, and elevate cricketers from grassroots levels.
The opening ceremony had cricket legend and stakeholder Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, actors Akshay Kumar, Saif and Kareena Kapoor-Khan, Suriya Sivalkumar and Ram Charan, who are also team owners present.
A special ‘Exhibition Match’ between Tendulkar-led Masters XI and Akshay Kumar-led Khiladi XI was held before the start of the competition with the former emerging victorious. The match was followed by a live performance from ‘Gully Boy’ Siddhanth Chaturvedi X Dharavi Rockers Band and a drone show by Karishma Kotak.
The inaugural edition has six teams – Majhi Mumbai, Srinagar ke Veer, Chennai Singams, Tigers of Kolkata, Falcon Risers Hyderabad and Bangalore Strikers – battling it out over the next 10 days with the winner taking home the trophy and handsome prize money.
